Strategic Planning for E-Commerce Systems (SPECS): Value Returns and Customer Alliance

Introduction There is clearly a great amount of interest in the interrelationship between eCom-merce and approaches to strategic planning. This special issue of IT&M sought research papers which considered the critical issues relating to this theme (SPECS). The guest editors particularly welcomed papers which included empirical evidence of research paradigms and their impact upon organisations. There is currently little consensus with regard to the approach which should be used to achieve strategic congruence and indeed some scepticism that there is a universal best Researchers suggest that it is inappropriate to assume that strategic alignment will automatically improve the chances of IS effectiveness and improved organisational performance. The phenomenal growth of eCommerce has now placed the focus clearly on IT-intensive value innovation (El Sawy et al., 1999) and evaluation of value returns (Farbey et al., 1999). The lack of empirical evidence, in particular, in supporting such return calls into question the original planning processes. This suggests a new paradigm is required for eCommerce systems recognising the value of implementation experience and its incorporation into all strategic planning activities within the organisation. Auger et al. identify and investigate the relationship between strategic orientation, competition, and Internet based eCommerce. The paper is unique in adopting technology policy and entrepreneurial approaches as examples of strategic orientations. They focus in particular on (a) the extent to which linkages exist between these orientations and conducting business activities over the Internet and (b) whether these linkages vary as a function of the competitive intensity of the environment in which the firm operates. The critical empirical observations are based on a sample of 150 firms from the magazine publishing industry. The findings demonstrate that the more aggressive the technology policy and the stronger the entrepreneurial orientation, the more the firm uses the Internet to conduct business activities. Loebbecke and Wareham introduce the common variant of eCommerce where they consider the impact of eBusiness on strategic planning. They claim that the current era of information, communication and media technologies (ICMT) has engendered a situation where traditional managerial paradigms are challenged and new business models are sought. They make the observation that a central area of managerial discourse in this respect is the critical need for a strategic approach within these environments. The paper is based on a pilot study with leading 136 HACKNEY, BURN, AND DHILLON European managers, consultants and academics. The findings offer a structured perspective on what …